A few hours later, back in the squad room
The three of them gathered together as they heard Ducky's voice through the phone speaker, his tone hinted at good rather than bad news, and they relaxed slightly.
"He is still in recovery, but the prognosis is good. Everything went well during surgery, and the bullet was extracted without problem. There is some muscle damage, and some concern because the bullet hit close to his right knee, which has been giving him trouble for years because of an old injury. He will require physical therapy, but right now it is difficult to determine the extent or the time needed, until he wakes up.."
Tony interrupted, "What about that Ducky, is he falling into a coma?"
"No.. No. They are not concerned about that, Tony. The scans showed a slight concussion, he probably hit his head as he fell down. There is also a simple fracture in the right arm, and he suffered some blood loss, but it could have been much worse, so overall, I would say that Jethro has been quite lucky."
Gibbs would probably beg to differ, rather loudly, Ducky suspected. But, since the man was still stubbornly unconscious, he was free to expound on the bright side of the gloomy situation.
"When do they expect him to wake up?" McGee asked.
"Sometime during the next few hours, Timothy."
Ziva's voice was impatient as she commented, "We're still tied up here, Ducky." The last time Gibbs had been severely injured, their world had changed without warning, and though they knew that his injuries were not critical this time, they still needed the reassurance.
Ducky understood their anxiety only too well, "Do not worry my dear, I will call as soon as he wakes up."
"Thanks, Ducky," Tony replied, and then added, "Could you please check on Lance Corporal Moore and let me know how he is doing; we will need to get his statement soon."
"I will do that and get back to you later." Ducky said before hanging up.
Their hearts were lighter as they resumed the work that was keeping them from joining Ducky in the hospital. Unfortunately, the case doesn't end once a victim is rescued and the perpetrators are arrested. The post-arrest details can be daunting, what with statements, reports, testimonies, and worst of all lawyers, particularly when you are trying to build a case against a wealthy businessman on the brink of bankruptcy. As they had all feared, Damon had not intended to release Moore once Kisarios gave up the deal. He had not planned to kill him either, but rather to move him to a more secure and remote location, and continue to take advantage of Kisarios. The young marine had almost succeeded in escaping once, hence their decision to remove him from Santos' house, which had been a good location with not ties to Damon himself.
As daunting as the work was, the sense of urgency that usually drove them during a case had disappeared, leaving behind a mixture of relief and exhaustion. Tony was feeling that mental and physical exhaustion now. The case itself had been stressful, and it had raised a few difficult personal issues, but those had paled in comparison to the dread he had felt at seeing Gibbs lying so still on the ground.
Gibbs had been hurt before, several times, but it hadn't been on his watch. Tony knew that unless he somehow possessed the ability to be in two places at the same time, then there was nothing he could have done to change that outcome. It was some consolation, but not enough of one. At least, he reasoned with himself, this time he had been chasing a suspect, not taking a day off!
Some people would look at those same events and say that Tony did a good job: the victim was safe, Gibbs was still in one piece, and the perpetrators were in custody. The rational part in his mind recognized the facts and agreed with that assessment. There was, however, another way to look at it: two men went out together to do a job, one of them came back unharmed, and the other ended in a hospital. Strangely, his mind conjured a memory from his childhood, and the faces of Robby, his best friend, and Benny, Robby's younger brother- an active and adventurous boy nicknamed "Energizer Benny." As expected, the three of them often came back from their excursions with little - and sometimes not so little - scrapes and bruises. His friend's mother, who was a formidable woman, usually met them with a standard, "What happened?" that was pure concern. However, when her "Energizer Bunny" was the only one to get hurt, her "What happened?" held enough blame to make Tony cringe whether he had been at fault or not. He felt much the same now. Nonetheless, he found himself laughing at the way his mind had drawn a parallel between Gibbs and a younger, hyperactive, and injury prone boy; their fierce leader wouldn't probably be amused at that image.
Tony suspected that his recent meeting with Vance had probably helped in conjuring that absurd image. Once he had returned to NCIS, Tony had directly gone to report to Vance. He had already briefly informed him of Gibbs' injury over the phone. But, as soon as Tony went in, Vance had met him with a stern, "Agent DiNozzo, what happened?" The assessing and disapproving look in his eyes had broadcasted a slightly different question; Tony had heard "What happened, this time?" as clearly as if the man had spoken the last two words out loud.
There was no way for either of them to forget that Vance had met Tony the first time when he was being accused of Killing La Grenouille, after a botched undercover assignment. A few weeks later, they had another memorable meeting after the L.A. debacle where Jenny Shepard had gotten herself killed, while Tony and Ziva were supposedly escorting her. Had that been Tony's fault? No one can say for certain, and Tony himself suspected that if he had done things differently, the end result might have remained the same, or worse. However, the what-if had left him suffering from guilt, self condemnation, and doubts for months. Did Vance's opinion matter to him? Not really; Tony knew very well whose opinion had mattered, and how it had affected him. He had been unable to meet Gibbs' eyes at that time, and he honestly didn't know how they would have both handled it if Vance hadn't turned their world upside down right after that. As he relived those events in his mind, Tony found himself thinking that Vance might have actually done them a favour by disbanding the team when he did.
Back in Bethesda
Pain was the first thing that registered as Gibbs started to regain consciousness. His body was sending distress signals from different sources. He tried to focus his eyes properly, and he was met with a reassuring and comfortable sight.
Ducky has been holding his breath waiting to see if he would find recognition in his friends' eyes, or meet the dreaded blank look that he got the last time Gibbs was injured more than two years ago. There was pain, confusion, but also recognition in those eyes, today. Relief coursed through him, "Welcome back Jethro!" The whispered "Ducky" was barely audible, but it was reassuring none the less.
He called for the nurse quickly, the doctor would need to assess Gibbs' condition and only then would they be able to inject him with a potent painkiller. "Don't try to move, Jethro, do you remember what happened?"
Gibbs frowned as he tried to summon enough strength to think back to what led him to his present condition. The words came haltingly, "the kidnapped marine... there was someone in the house, a man came at me.." He stopped, trying to remember, he hadn't been alone, DiNozzo had been with him, but he couldn't remember what happened afterwards.
Gibbs voice shook, as he added "DiNozzo! He was with me.." Ducky noticed the heart rate increase, and the look of alarm on his old friend's face, and hurried to reassure him, "Anthony is fine, Jethro, and so is our marine. You're the only one who got hurt, my friend, if we discount one of the two men who caused your injuries."
Gibbs closed his eyes in relief, but he couldn't ignore the pain for long. Thankfully, the doctor arrived quickly, and after a short examination and explanation, they administered a painkiller and he slipped into a healing sleep.
The second time he woke up, he was met by a whirlwind of care, concern, and reassurances; he smiled at Abby's quick monologue, and managed after a while to calm her down enough, and to get some facts about the case. This visit had been followed by others from Ziva and McGee. Vance had dropped in at a certain point, but through it all Gibbs had been less than alert.
It was almost a day later when Tony finally managed to spend a few moments with an awake and alert Gibbs. The tension that had been Tony's constant companion these last few days finally faded as he sat there, answering Gibbs' questions about the case. However, he didn't miss the way his usually stoic boss winced every time he tried to shift his body slightly in the bed. In addition to the actual injuries, the doctor's earlier assessment was proving to be true, and the proximity of the bullet wound to the previously injured knee was causing further problems. It was not going to be an easy recovery, Tony thought. As he left the hospital to go back to work, an idea started to take shape in his mind.
Two days later, Bethesda Hospital
"Something on your mind, DiNozzo?"
Tony has been fidgeting a bit more than usual since he had sat himself on the chair facing Gibb's hospital bed. Tony suspected that Gibbs himself would have been fidgeting if he were able to, it was clear that his boss was suffering from acute boredom, add to that the pain and the prospects of a long recovery and you get a miserable and irascible Gibbs.
Tony had given his idea a lot of thought in the last couple of days, and the only thing left was to share it, "I know that they plan to discharge you soon, Boss, and that you will still need several physical therapy sessions before you can get back to work. You won't be able to use crutches for the first couple of weeks, and won't be able to manage stairs, so I thought it might be best if you stayed with me. There are no stairs to worry about, and I will be able to help a bit with some of the exercises, and to drive you to the sessions whenever possible." Tony fell silent waiting for Gibbs' reaction; he saw a fleeting look of surprise in his eyes, but then nothing more.
Now, when faced with a sincere offer to help, most people would either accept thankfully, decline politely, or express their fear of being a bother. Gibbs, however, was not most people.
"I have been injured much worse, DiNozzo, I can manage on my own." He answered calmly, though he failed to explain how exactly he was going to manage this time.
Tony knew Gibbs well enough to realize that he was not the type to seek or accept help willingly, or to admit to weaknesses, even if the weakness involved nothing more than a weakened eyesight. If the concept of relying on another's help was foreign to Gibbs, the concept of sharing his home, even temporarily, and the idea of caring for an injured person, were both equally foreign to Tony.
He continued, unfazed, "I know you do, Boss. That's not the issue here; it would just be easier if you were not on your own this time, since your options are a bit limited with two injuries." Tony really didn't know what kind of options Gibbs was considering; he didn't think he would relish the idea of going into a rehabilitation facility, he can still get medical care at home, but that would still leave the problem of getting around.
A slight edge had crept into Gibbs' voice as he answered him, "There is no need for you to worry about that, DiNozzo."
Tony persisted, "You would do the same for me, actually you already did, I stayed at your place more than once.." Gibbs interrupted him with a sarcastic smile, "and that didn't go so well, if you recall."
"That's beside the point, Gibbs. You're not me.. uh.. I mean you make a much better behaved house guest."
"The best house guest, DiNozzo, is the one that doesn't show up. As I said, don't worry about it." Gibbs tried to inject a final note in his voice, a note that DiNozzo was familiar with, but he doubted it will make much difference this time. DiNozzo had been a bit unpredictable lately, and to be honest, it was making him uncomfortable; he didn't like it when people decided to change the rules on him.
"You are not planning on hopping to Mexico, aren't you? Not that you will be able to hop anywhere with that leg.." Tony stopped himself before a glaring Gibbs could stop him. However, he wasn't done yet. "You didn't mind staying with Franks."
"That was different, DiNozzo."
"Well, as long as you don't do it again." Tony muttered under his breath, then raised his voice as he added, "So, it won't be the first time, you already stayed at Franks', and though Mrs. Mallard may be a bit of problem, I'm sure you wouldn't mind staying at Ducky's house, right?"
Gibbs answered a bit impatiently, "No, DiNozzo, I wouldn't exactly mind.. but that's different, too."
Tony smiled as he retorted, "Well, you're right about that, I don't have a pack of hounds in my apartment, and the furniture is a lot easier to move, not a huge difference, though."
"It's different, DiNozzo.. Ducky is a friend."
The smile fell and Tony froze. Gibbs didn't miss the change in his expression and realized his faux pas, so he tried to amend, "he is an old friend, DiNozzo. Besides, I'm not planning on going anywhere but home."
"Yeah.. I get that Boss," Tony said as he stood ready to leave, "not one of my best ideas, and we would probably have killed each other in a matter of days." The humour was forced, and so was the smile, but it was the best Tony could do. "I think Abby will be dropping by sometime today," he added, waved goodbye and left without waiting for an answer.
Gibbs felt even more agitated as he watched DiNozzo leave hurriedly; he shifted his body on the bed without thinking, and the consequent sharp pain was a mocking reminder that he won't get out of his latest physical mishap easily, and the same could be said about this latest blunder with DiNozzo.
Tbc.
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